Back Home Again...

Well, it has been two weeks since I’ve posted anything, so as I’m sitting here at home I thought I should go ahead and type up another edition of this blog (btw, I really hate the word blog.  Can someone please come up with a better word for what I’m writing here?).  We were off all of last week and do not head back out on the road again until this Friday.  These writings are dedicated to what happens in our lives off stage, and I have taken that to mean while we were out on tour, but I was thinking yesterday maybe that should also mean what is going on while we’re off the road.  Maybe people don’t know what we do when we go home – trust me though, it is not that exciting (for me at least).  As a group, we spend so much time together during a tour that when we head home we don’t communicate very much; our time away from each other becomes pretty valuable.  But then also when we get back in the van after our time at home we always seem excited to see each other again too.  The point is, I don’t really know too much about what the other guys are doing with their down time.  But here’s my speculation: Kevin is probably building something; Josh is spending time with his kids; and Steve is filling in with some other local bands.  But for me… well, I don’t build things, I don’t have kids, and I don’t know the local bands where I live.  I guess I spend my time off the road differently.  Let’s see, here are some things about me when I’m home: I go to bed early – like 10pm early, which is sometimes when our shows are just starting.  I catch up on reading.  I read an entire book yesterday; it was awesome.  I eat much healthier foods: no McDonalds, no Wendy’s, no Denny’s.  I actually really enjoy healthy home cooked meals; asparagus, grilled chicken, vegetable soups, etc.  Okay, I did have a burger the other night, but anyone who knows what a GCB is understands that it is a perfectly acceptable excuse.   I also try to stay off the internet (in general) and our social media sites (in particular) as much as I can.  As necessary as it is for me to be ‘connected’ for our business and marketing, sometimes it is really nice to just be away from it all for a little while.  I think I’ve spent a total of 20 minutes on our FACEBOOK fan page since we’ve been home; and I don’t think I’ve touched our TWITTER page.  Oh well, I’ll catch up when we go back out.  Speaking of going out, that’s another thing I don’t do when I’m off the road.  I just like to stay home.  No bars, no parties, nothing.  I’m out in crowds so much when we tour, it is very relaxing for me to stay in when we’re off the road; to not have to deal with crowds, or just noise in general.  Like right now, it is so peaceful; the only sound is the clicking of my fingers hitting the keyboard as I type this. 

But as much as I love being home with my family and getting some much needed and deserved rest, part of me starts to miss the stage pretty quickly too.  I start to miss the rush from performing: the spotlight, the energy, the vibe.  Yes, when I’m home, part of me misses the road; and when I’m on the road, I definitely miss home. 

Wow, now I guess you know way too much about my time away from touring.  Maybe that was a little too much.  Oh well.  Hey, does anyone know what the term “spinning shitties” means?  I heard that phrase the other day and had no clue what it was.  Come to find out it means doing donuts with your car (btw, is it ‘donuts’ or ‘doughnuts’?)  Anyway, hearing that phrase made me wonder if you all know what ‘two trackin’ is.  In the song “What They Say” off our new album, there’s a line that says “I like to kick back on the two track”.  I got the term from my friend’s wife who is from Michigan and said they used to go two trackin’.  She was surprised that I didn’t know what it meant.  If you don’t know what it is, ask me the next time you see me at a show.  That way I’ll actually know someone is reading this. 

Here’s another random thought (or a bunch of random thoughts strung together): I was going through some old records the other day, and I kept catching myself saying, “wow, I love this band” or “this album is great” or “oh, this is like the greatest song of all time”.  After I finished sorting through the albums, I thought to myself: is there a greatest song of all time?  Which then made me think: what’s my favorite song of all time?  It is actually a pretty common question.  I used to say “Black” by Pearl Jam was my favorite song.  But I wonder, is it?  Or was I just saying that b/c I love Pearl Jam that much.  I mean, I do really really like that song.  It moves me.  But is it my favorite song ever?  Maybe it is more accurate (for me at least) to not have one favorite song, but a collection of a few songs that all are way up there for me.  Like how there is the ‘top albums of all time’ list, it would be the ‘top couple songs of all time according to Mike’ list. But then I wonder, what is it about a song that makes it one of your favorites ever?  Is it solely the lyrics? The way it makes you feel when you hear it?  Or do you associate it with a memory/different time in your distant past?  Or maybe a combination of those, plus other things I’m not even thinking about right now.  I don’t know.  I do know this though; songs that I really love are the ones that somehow make me think; either about what the artist is saying, or how it relates to me in that moment (or sometime in the past), or sometimes even just makes me feel at peace.  If anyone knows what makes a song so great that it is a ‘favorite of all time’, let me know so I can use that knowledge in my song writing.  Then maybe one day someone will tell me that one of my songs is their favorite song ever.  That would really blow me away.  Actually, I already know one person who thinks one of my songs is their favorite; but it is a song most of you have not ever heard (and probably will not ever hear). 

Oh, quickly going back to the ‘top songs of all time’ list thing: I had a friend one time back in college that made a CD version of a mix tape that he called “The Almost Perfect CD”, which had a bunch of great songs on it.  Every song was awesome.  It was almost perfect.  Well, it was almost perfect for our group of friends, at that time in our lives, in that setting.  I wonder if that ‘mix-CD’ would still be ‘almost perfect’ now.  Or was it just right for us back then.  Which brings me back to the original point: can there really be a favorite song of all time?  Or is it just a favorite song for a while?  I’m sure there is no right or wrong answer here, just opinions.   By the way, that was just by pure coincidence my second shout out to the same old friend in this week’s blog.  I wonder if he actually reads this stuff. 

Well, we’re heading back out on the road this weekend.  We play in Milwaukee, WI on Friday night, then head to Madison, WI on Saturday, performing for their grand opening weekend.  Plus Madison is a new town for us, which is always exciting for me.  Then Sunday we head down to Savanna, Illinois.  It should be a really fun weekend for us; Milwaukee is always a blast, we get a new venue, and the shows in Savanna are always great.  Plus, we’ll be promoting the new album in these towns, which is great for us too.  From there I think we head back up to Northern Wisconsin and even have a few shows in Minnesota.  If we are near you at any of these upcoming shows, come out and say hi (and pick up a copy of our new album!!!)

Alright, I think I have rambled on long enough for this week.  As always, make sure you check out our website www.themichaeldband.com, and be sure to ‘follow’ us on TWITTER and ‘like’ our FACEBOOK page.  And if there is anything you think I should write about on here, feel free to EMAIL us as well.  And if you haven’t already, make sure you go pick up our new album “Back In Town” on I-TUNES. 

Lastly, as promised, here are the lyrics to another song from the new album.  Thanks for reading.  See you at a show soon.

“THE MEMORY”

I remember holding you listening to Janis sing

about ‘Summertime’ and ‘hangin’ with Bobby McGee’

I remember spring time when that letter came

You got accepted and everything changed

But looking back I wouldn’t trade it for a million dollars ‘cause I’ve got more

I’ve got the memory of the way it was

I miss the past but we’ve both moved on

Its hard to understand when you’re 17

I lost the girl but I still got the memory

I remember late nights out on the back roads

Smoking cigarettes that we stole

I still think about that late summer day

Staring down at a stone with your name

I wish you’d never gone out that night, had those drinks, crossed that yellow line

But I’ve got the memory of the way it was

God knows I miss you  but I try to move on

I hope you’re up there looking down on me

I lost you brother but I still got the memory

And just because time moves so fast

Doesn’t mean we forget the past

I’ve got the memory of the way it was

I miss the past but we all keep moving on

As the years go by there is gonna be

Someone we lose but we’ll always have the memory

Yeah I’ve still got the memory